The best Nikkor lenses to use with the EX3 are the old manual lenses (Ai) with an aperture ring. I also have a couple of adapters (MTF & Adaptamatic) to use with the newer auto lenses which do not have an aperture ring these lenses are not so good,as you don't don't know which aperture you are working with. Try to keep the lens at approx one or two stops down for best results.

Yes Vincent, found that out the hard way. Try to guess via the Adaptamatic what is say F8 and then use a combination of B&W 8x ND filter, EX3s built in ND filters and a Genus ND Fader Filter, not all at the same time of course!

Trouble is round here that the weather not ideal of late, either gloomy like today or harsh sunshine, and the place I go to test faces into the sun if there is any.

Perseverance I reckon, a good camera, very good recorder, nanoFlash, and I think a good lens (not cheap in a SLR zoom context).

Would still like to know the score with that Canon KJ20. Must admit gone off the idea somewhat after finding this thread but there must be someone out there's who's used one.

Ron

I know exactly what you mean. Fortunately I also have the older Adaptamatic and MTF adaptors and about 24 Nikkor lenses (old style) these work very well with the EX3, but don't stop down beyond f8 and don't use the lenses at full aperture. I just tend to use the lenses from 85 to 500mm with a very steady tripod. I did do a video showing what can be achieved with them, will see if I can locate it for you.

Here we go

Sony EX3 Nikon mount (http://www.photo-i.co.uk/video/SonyNikon/EX3test.html)


I did this test with a tripod that was not suitable, this has now been replaced, so excuse the shaky footage.

Interesting Vincent. I used to have a bag of Nikkors in my "still" snapping days, all the way from 24mm to 600mm. Last "proper" still camera I purchased was a F4S.

Just had another go with my 80-400 and it's actually okay if it and the EX3 are set up properly. I found out yesterday that this old (2009) iMac display is not very sharp, properly calibrated, but not particularly sharp and I don't know whether it is possible to sharpen it.

I was getting what seemed to be sharp images in both EX3 viewfinder and my SWIT monitor which appeared a bit soft when back home viewing on my iMac.
Yesterday I connected my 22 inch desk top monitor to the EX3 and 80-400 and what was sharp in the viewfinder was sharp on the monitor. I played back the files out of the nanoFlash onto my 51inch plasma, also sharp. Same with same result on my new 13inch MBP Retina.

In future I will not be relying on the iMac image to judge sharpness or anything else. As for that broadcast lens, if someone comes along and says it's the dog's whatnot on the EX3 then I'm interested. Otherwise persevere with the 80-400 and maybe look for a "longer" Fuji or Canon EX3 dedicated 1/2 inch lens and see whether it works with my 72mm thread front mounted 1.5x teleconverter, which works well with the EX3 stock lens.

Ron

The problem with the new Adaptamatic is that it has a long screw which could damage a lens if over tightened. The MTF adaptor is much better in this respect as it has a stop. Although you would still have to guess which f stop was being used. You could make marks on the MTF to indicate one or two stops down, regardless of which lens was in use. Of course a custom lens would be a better choice, but everything comes at a price.

Incidentally, I have been sent a Nikon D7100 for review, this accepts all the older style Nikkor lenses and can be used as a B roll camera for the occasional drop in shot or extreme wide angle shots.

SD vs HD: Beneath all said things about sharpness, MTF and other things:
Dont forget that most nowadays Broadcast Cameras can minimize Chromatic Abberations when you use an HD lens with CA electronics (the lens "tells" the camera its actual focus/Zoom/Iris values and the amount of CA has been measured before)
No SD Lens provides such a tool.

Its very impressing to see how much (vertical) CA can be minimized when togglich ALAC on / off in a PDW700!

Also I found "cheap" HD Lenses to breathe a lot - for some people acceptable , for others not.

Uli

Most CA can be corrected in post production. However, this is just another item in things to do. My Nikkor lenses do seem to be well corrected for CA, maybe I am just lucky.

On my Fujinon 22x7.6 I have never been able to detect any difference between ALAC on and off during my testing and close scrutiny. The lens looks great either way, so maybe it's good enough that it just doesn't need ALAC.

BTW, my F800 package is up for sale -- complete with lens, color EVF, matte box, etc.
Vortex Media Used Gear for Sale (http://www.vortexmedia.com/used/UsedGear1.html)

I was just looking at some comparison shots of the Stock lens and my Nikkor lenses. Here is a shot taken at Full zoom on the stock lens and the same shot with a 85mm f1.8 Nikkor lens, they both about the same focal length.. Notice how much C/A is present on the stock lens, partuclary at the right edge.

Here is a range shot 85, 105, 135, 200, 300 and 500mm Nikkor lenses I have also included the scene taken with the stock lens at wide and telephoto. The 300mm is perhaps the weak lens in the line up, it displays some flare which looks like C/A

@vincent: what adapter do you use with the nikkors?

I used the MTF, but I also have an Adaptamatic, both work equally well. The Nikon lenses are all manual with aperture rings. Both MTF and Adaptamic also have adaptors for the lenses that do not have an aperture ring, although I like to know which aperture I am using. Picture below with the 200mm Nikkor lens

BTW, my F800 package is up for sale -- complete with lens, color EVF, matte box, etc.
Vortex Media Used Gear for Sale (http://www.vortexmedia.com/used/UsedGear1.html)

Doug, you forgot to put your car on the list :-) are you giving up on video?

Nope, not giving up on video yet.
I'm selling my F800 and F3 because I've moved to an F55 and I simply don't need those two cameras anymore. The rest of the stuff I'm selling is surplus from the days when I had two fully-functional ENG/EFP packages. If you knew how much stuff I will still have left you would never wonder if I was getting out!